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It was an incredible opportunity for the band. We had been asked if we would like to record part of a song with Westlife, for a show that would be broadcast over the Christmas period.  When i received the initial email and then the phone call from Simon at ITV I was a bit worried that we would not get enough people to take the day off and spend all of Tuesday 1st November in the middle of London. How wrong was I?. When i first mentioned the chance to the beginners there was a Richter scale 5 eruption in the training room. They were so excited about the chance to meet the boys. At the adult session later there was a unanimous decision to do the show, so that was it, time for a lot of practice.  I contacted ITV and said that i would have 19 playing members and there was another group of 15 who were parents and young members that would like to attend and if possible watch the live recording. Fair play to ITV they accommodated our every request.
There was a slight problem in that any playing member of the band who was under 16 had to have permission from their school, their doctors and Birmingham City Council to perform and be recorded for the TV. It was a close run thing, the younger members would have been gutted if they could not play but the council pulled all the stops out. So what generally takes 2 weeks to clear was done in 4 days. Many thanks to the council for making it possible for our younger members to play.

We had been asked to write our own score for the part of the tune that we would be playing. So late one evening myself, Joel Grigg and Pat Cox were sat around a laptop listening to the tune and writing the music. We had all the band practicing the tune on a Sunday afternoon and on the following Tuesday it was the only thing rehearsed. I recorded the practice and sent the audio to Steve Anderson (musical director/producer to Westlife and Kylie!!!). Steve thought that what we had was great but was worried that the pitch of the pipes (B flat) would clash with that of the main band that would be tuned to orchestral A. Steve then sent over a variation of the tune where we would be playing harmonies to the main tune when we joined in. After trying it a couple of times with the audio it did sound great, the only problem was that it wasn’t a tune. It was a score of notes that harmonised with the main tune so the band had a lot of work to do. We only had one practice on a Sunday to get the new music sorted and everyone was sent off with the new music and the words ‘Practice, Practice, Practice’ resonating in their ears.
We met up on the big day and at 10am we were all on the coach (Attain coaches are excellent, we always use them), and headed off to deepest central London. At 11.15am on the coach after listening t many a Westlife tune through the coach CD player it was time for one final practice. 10 pipers on their practice chanter took up the first 3 rows in the coach started practicing to a CD of the part of the tune we were playing. After 40 minutes we went round every piper who played solo to the CD and they weren’t allowed to look at the music. Everybody had it. It was great. We eventually got to ITV studios at 1.30pm after a little mishap with the satnav. (it didn’t want to take us where we were going).
Once we arrived we were shown to a small room for rehearsing which I had all the pipers doing straight away. About 10 minutes later Steve Anderson came in to listen and said that he thought it would sound great with the main band.
From there it was proper rehearsal time. We were shown our places on stage and went through the tune twice with some young ladies pretending to be Westlife. Our positions were adjusted slightly and it ended up with Oran Grigg and Eilish Stanton being the lead pipers who would literally be a foot away from Westlife as we played. The third and fourth rehearsals were with Westlife themselves. It was amazing to see how everything was done and the amount of work that goes in to what will be a one hour show. After our final practice we were shown to the dressing room we had and had a bit of relaxation time and time to get some food and drink. So, we hit the canteen. Bradley Walsh walked through; my young son called his name and Bradley immediately went over to him, shook his hand and said’ alright son, what’s your name’? Oran answered and Bradley asked why he was there. ‘I’m playing with Westlife later’ to which Bradley said ‘Wow, I have got to have my picture taken with you’. He was a really nice guy and had a good chat with whoever wanted to talk to him. Shay Given the Villa keeper was there as well as Christine Bleakly, many other stars who I recognise but could not name. The kids plus a few of the older ones had a great time getting photos and chatting.

We were meant to be recording our tune at 7pm. The musical director had said that we played great in the rehearsals and they had it all taped. We were probably going to mime the actual recording with the track of us playing in the background. That was fine by me as I didn’t have to worry about tuning the chanters.  However, Steve asked me whether the band would play live as it had such a huge impact when we arrived on stage and started to play, he didn’t think that miming would have the same effect. By this time I knew the band were comfortable with the tune and would do a great job so we agreed to record live.
At a quarter to 10 we were finally called on to do our tune ‘Queen of My Heart’ I had been told by the producers that there would be at least 2 takes which was a bit worrying as our coach driver would be close to his hours. So we were lined up ready to go on at both sides of the stage. What we hadn’t expected was a great crowd of 400 fans in front of us and another 400 in the gallery (where all our non players were sat). Westlife started to sing the song and we marched on to the stage at the appropriate time, as we turned to face each other we had 2 seconds and then we were in to the tune. I have never been prouder of the band, it was note perfect, completely in time with the boys singing and sounded nice and relaxed. At the end of the tune there was a huge amount of noise as the audience screamed and shouted and applauded, it seemed to go on forever. It then went quiet and I was waiting for instructions to go back to our places and go through it again. But the word came down that it was great no need for a second take and to cap a great performance, as we left the stage Mark from Westlife said over the microphone ‘Ladies and Gents give it big for The Birmingham Irish Pipes and Drums’ there was a massive eruption of noise and applause and  it was for us!
The programme is being aired on ITV over Christmas, the 17th is a date being mentioned at the moment but if you check our website i will post the day and time when i am informed. We met a lot of stars that day and had a great opportunity which the band took in its stride. As Pipe Major of the BIPD I was really proud of all those that went to London. They were the real stars of the day to me. Well done everyone.
We also did the Remembrance Day Parade for Perry Common British Legion No.1 on Sunday 13th November and as usual we were welcomed, fed and watered and treated really well. This year the parade led to St Lukes in Kingstanding and it was a great and humbling service. Remembering all those lost in the wars and other conflicts that still rage today.
If you would like to contact the band then please call Maurice on 07967 376891 or email richard@birminghamirishpipesanddrums.co.uk have a great Christmas and New Year and may the next year bless you all with what you wish.

Remembrance Day Parade with No. 1 Perry Common Royal British Legion